Maurice Koechlin: The Man Who Made the Eiffel Tower Possible

If you ever visit the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, on the passage between the south and west pillars, you will find ‘Rue Maurice Koechlin et Emile Nouguier’ etched on the floor.

Although credited to Gustave Eiffel, not many would know that the Eiffel Tower would not have existed without Maurice Koechlin.

This is the story of a French-Swiss engineer who played a key role in the construction of the most visited man-made monument in the world.

Born in 1856 in the Alsace region of France, Maurice Koechlin, along with his family, moved to Switzerland after the Franco-Prussian war. He, along with his siblings went to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, one of the world’s leading technical universities for engineering.

Koechlin had the privilege of studying under the tutelage of Kal Culmann, a visionary professor renowned for his expertise in graphic statics — a groundbreaking approach to structural engineering. Culmann’s innovative methods for using box girders to construct towering structures fascinated Koechlin, sparking a passion that shaped his career.

Back in Paris, when Gustave Eiffel was on the lookout for top engineering talent, he turned to Culmann for a recommendation. Without hesitation, the professor named Koechlin — his most eager and promising student. That introduction would set the stage for one of history's most iconic engineering feats.

Koechlin soon started working in Eiffel’s company and created a niche for himself by working on projects like the Garabit railway viaduct, a masterpiece of civil engineer built 122 meters above the River Truyère in 1884 (still standing in the Cantal department in France). Koechlin’s ingenuity was already evident in his bridge designs, where he used piers that bore a striking resemblance to the towering structure he would later help create.

Thereafter, he worked alongside another Alsatian the engineer Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, on fine-tuning the steel framework of the Statue of Liberty gifted by France to The United States of America.

At the age of 28, Koechlin became the head of Eiffel’s engineering department. The Universal Exhibition of 1889, offered him a chance to make a lasting impression. In the Eiffel studios in May 1884, Koechlin, along with his colleague, Emile Nouguier came up with the idea of a very tall tower, made of metal, which was Eiffel’s speciality.

Sitting at home on June 6, 1884, Koechlin made a rough calculation and sketched a 300-meter metal tower, a feat unprecedented and unheard of. He named it ‘300-Meter-Tall Pylon’.

The sketch and the idea although bold and ambitious, failed to impress Eiffel initially who felt it was a mere structure that lacked the aesthetics.

Although Eiffel disregarded the project, he did authorise his employees to continue working on the idea.

Working with architect Stephen Sauvestre, Koechlin and Nouguier tried to make the project more aesthetic and attractive.

Two years later, in November 1886, the project was officially approved, and the ‘300-Meter Tower’ was set in motion, destined to be the centrepiece of the 1889 World Exhibition.

As Gustave Eiffel’s trusted right-hand man, Maurice Koechlin led the design process — producing 5,300 detailed drawings — and managed countless calculations. From 1887 to 1889, he closely oversaw the tower’s foundation and construction, ensuring every detail was executed to perfection.

Maurice Koechlin also went on to become the director of The Eiffel Company, which was later renamed to Société de Construction de Levallois-Perret. He dedicated his life to the project and was involved in the company and the life of the Tower at the end of the 1930s.

He also remained friends with Gustave Eiffel until the latter died in 1923.

In a 1939 interview marking the Eiffel Tower’s 50th anniversary, Koechlin was asked if it should have been named the Koechlin Tower instead. He humbly replied, “Eiffel is the undeniable father of the Tower […] full of tireless perseverance […] He remains the great creator and the man of sufficient prestige and audacity who was able to shake up the public authorities and impose his project.”

Few people know that three generations later, Maurice Koechlin’s legacy extended beyond engineering to the world of cinema.

And if you have already guessed it, yes, it is indeed Kalki Koechlin, Maurice Koechlin’s great-granddaughter, whose family moved to Pondicherry from France, where the actor was born.

Though history often remembers the leaders, it is pioneers like Koechlin who turn ideas into lasting legacies. Today, his work remains an inspiration for engineers, architects, and dreamers worldwide.